The Way to Pray - 6/16/2023 Sunday Sermon

The Way to Pray

As we will see today, when God’s people fervently pray together with a sense of what God wants to happen o1n earth, God moves in power!

Matthew 6:9-15

John 17 is the Lord’s prayer for His disciples; this prayer is more the model disciple’s prayer to the Lord!

Pray with personal affection for the Lord V. 9a

In the opening 4 words Jesus speaks about the best Person and the best Place!

There is no evidence of anyone before Jesus using this term of endearment families used of their dad to pray to God Himself; Jesus wanted us to think of God as our “Pater,” our “Abba,” our “Papa.”

Fill your prayer with praise for your King V. 9b

Hallowed is the verb form of holy. May God’s name be made holy among us, set apart, uniquely special. May His name be held in reverence among us. May we glorify and praise Him as we gather.

Fill your prayer with Kingdom perspective V. 10

Jesus is already the spiritual king of those who follow Him; One day He will be physically King over the entire earth. We want to live, pray and act like we believe that!

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” -Abraham Kuyper

Ask God for His provision to do His will V. 11

Bread is used here to cover our need for all food, but also for all the material provisions we need to live! But remember to pray for your needs, not your greeds!

Ask God for His power to receive and give forgiveness V. 12

I love the way Jesus uses words! I shouldn’t be surprised – the One who gives us minds and mouths is Himself the most skilled user of words the world has ever known!

So what does Jesus make us think about first as we consider forgiveness?

Our need to have our own sins forgiven by the God we sin against.

We are to start by humbly acknowledging our own need for forgiveness. For some of you that betrays a big problem – you have asked God repeatedly for forgiveness but not taken God at His word and received His forgiveness. Until you do, you will struggle to forgive others.

Ask God for protection as you do His will V. 13

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured away by His own desire. -James 1:13-14

Of course God won’t ever be the reason you get caught up in sin – you will lead yourself there. God will lead you away from evil if you let Him!

Check your relationships for prayer power V. 14-15

Jesus is not saying if you as a Christian struggle to forgive you will lose your salvation. He is saying that if you don’t forgive it will affect your fellowship with God and others.

“If we refuse to forgive our erring brethren God will not grant us that restorative forgiveness by which we plead when conscious of sin and failure. This, of course, has nothing to do with that eternal forgiveness which the believing sinner receives when he comes to Christ. It is the Father’s forgiveness of an erring child, which must of necessity take into account the attitude of the failed one toward other members of the family. -H.A. Ironside